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UK GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO COMMIT TO EXTENSION OF SEASONAL WORKERS SCHEME

A north-east MSP has slammed the UK government for failing to commit now to a long-term scheme that would allow seasonal workers to enter Scotland after Brexit.

Tory Immigration Minister, Seema Kennedy, fell short of providing any assurances for the Scottish growers industry after Angus South MSP, Graeme Dey, asked if the current Seasonal Agricultural Workers pilot scheme would be extended.

The current scheme has been widely criticised by industry leaders, with just 2,500 visas granted for seasonal workers across the UK – it is estimated that Angus alone requires more than 4000.

The Tory government said it was “keen to see the evidence” of how the current pilot has operated before “carefully considering the future of the scheme”.

But the SNP MSP has said that’s “simply not good enough” – suggesting the growers industry and local economy “can’t afford to wait any longer” for clarity from Westminster.

Commenting, Graeme Dey said:

“It seems like the Tories couldn’t care less about the jobs and livelihoods that depend on the growers industry here in the north east. If there’s no workforce to pick soft fruits, then there’s going to be nothing on the supermarket shelves and perfectly good crops will be left to rot in the fields.

“The current pilot scheme doesn’t get anywhere close to tackling the issue. There’s also a complete failure here to recognise the urgency of the situation.

“Beyond that, farmers are concerned about the £400 a head cost and the involvement of agents in the recruitment process. They also want assurances around the the robustness of that process.

“It’s simply not good enough for the UK government to dodge basic questions on the nature and future of the scheme and fail to provide the industry with the assurances and certainty it needs.

“We’re on course to crash out of Europe with No Deal in a matter of weeks – businesses in Angus and across Scotland can’t afford to wait any longer. The industry is absolutely furious and they have every right to be after the way this incompetent Tory government has treated them.

“It’s high time the Scottish Parliament got relevant powers over immigration to build a better system, based on common sense, which actually works for Scotland and the needs of our rural economy.”